The Christmas Tree
Well sort of. In 2023 I read somewhere that to have a library you need at least 1,000 books. I looked and I was nearing 700 books read and decided this was my next goal. Since then I've found almost as many definitions of a library as there are libraries. Yet the symbolism means a lot to me so I'm holding onto it.
Sometimes things happen in threes. November 7th is my Dad's birthday, the day I finished my 1,001st book, and the day the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center is being put up. That's three! And the tree is reportedly 76 feet tall. If I stacked up all the books I've read over the past 24 years they'd be taller than that tree by just over 7 feet.
When I set the goal of a library of books I committed to rewarding myself. The reward ties to the tree in Rockefeller Center, but I'm saving that to the end.
From Three Books to Three Books a Week
I started my leadership journey in my late teens/early twenties. A colleague of mine was the customer whisperer and I thought the world of her. She was the first real adult to ever listen to me. One day our boss was just losing it on someone over my shoulder. I turned around and realized he was yelling at her. I knew right then, whatever our boss wanted from her, I could do it in a way that left her dignity intact.
I had a pretty clear idea of the leader I wanted to be, but becoming that person was another matter. I did land the supervisor job there, and got fired.
About a year later, my marriage was on the rocks, soon to end as it turned out. The day I walked into the empty home, with silence louder than any concert I have ever been to, it didn't take me long to conclude no court was going to give me my kids back over my soon to be ex. I committed to becoming the person I needed to be so that if the question of where do the kids live ever came up, I would be the default answer.
Fortunately, around that time, my boss's boss was mentoring people and I was one of them. When my soon to be ex and I split up he gave me the only good advice I got, and he did it by questioning the crap coming out of my mouth. It sank in, and when I was yelling at my ex at the top of my lungs and saw the look on my daughter's face that said "Dad, you're screaming at the other favorite person in my life" it made me rethink.
The next time my ex called, I greeted her with a ridiculously enthusiastic "GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!" And if you haven't heard it yet, you should. You'll know why it's famous.
And the journey to a good relationship with my ex began, which was good for me, my kids, my wife, and my ex-wife. Most importantly, the day eventually came when the question of my kids living with me full time was asked. I'm grateful with all that I am that the day did come, and there was no question.
My first book was Who Moved My Cheese?, and I read three books that year. In 2014 I read seventeen books and bragged about it every moment I got. In 2018 I hit the book a week mark, and now my ego will not let me read less than three books a week. I track it diligently and when I start falling behind I double down. In 2025 I didn't hit three books a week, but I won't tell you why just yet.
Some fun data! Including re-reads, I've read a book 1,152 times since 2002. I've spent enough hours reading that if I had worked 40-hour weeks instead, it would have taken nearly two and a half years, and if I'd been riding a bike at the same time, I would have circled the Earth 2.4 times! I've also saved nearly 12,000 notes and quotes in all that reading.
The Books, People, and Ideas That Changed Me
I only need to read Peter Drucker's The Effective Executive one more time to make it the first to cross into double digits. I have the longest ongoing relationship with Contact Center Management on Fast Forward by Brad Cleveland, which was recommended to me by a former boss. I first read it 22 years ago and re-read it again this year!
But you could argue Brandon Sanderson takes the cake. I've read every single one of his Cosmere books, taking me just shy of 278 hours. And I cannot wait for Ghostbloods to be released! The next four authors combined don't come to as many hours: pirateaba, James S. A. Corey, George R. R. Martin, and Bill Bryson.
I've read more books recommended by one friend than anyone else, 31 in total, with 25 being among my favorite books I've ever read! Three other friends combined recommended 35 books I've read, of which I also loved 25.
A former leader recommended the McKinsey reading list to me one year. I've read 18 books from that list, 14 of which I loved.
And the highest hit rate of them all goes to another friend. While I've only read 9 books they've recommended, every single one has been a banger! When this friend recommends a book, don't think, just read it.
I started reading to become a better person, and later a better leader. I became more interested in why people do what they do. Books like The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows taught me to look at the systems creating problems instead of only trying to correct people.
In '23 I started reading authors whose life experiences didn't match mine. I read about racism, gender, inequality, and lives I'd never experienced. Some of those books challenged things I knew I knew. Reading hasn't made me more certain of what I know. Instead I've learned empathy, and for me empathy complicates certainty.
I Almost Forgot About the Tree
I cried today, I cried because today, November 7th is my Dad's birthday. I stopped my car at the cemetery where he's buried and finished my book just feet from him. Dad passed away in 2025. I stared at his gravestone and I cried. I talked to him and I cried. I wrote a letter about my grieving and other losses in my life and I cried. I sat in the grass missing him, and I cried.
In December my wife and I are going to NYC to celebrate. We're celebrating our love, celebrating being empty nesters, and celebrating me reading a library. We're going to see a play I need to see with her, and do all the famous Christmas in NYC things we can possibly fit in.
And as we look at the Rockefeller Christmas tree, I'll imagine my stack of books next to it and I'll cry. Because I'll remember today, when that tree was put up, when I reached my goal, and when I visited my Dad on his birthday.
Then I'll smile at my wife, kiss her, hug her, and thank her for being my favorite!
The books
Here is a link to my reading spreadsheet on my unnamed account if you're interested. It's a multitabbed beast that's not terrible approachable: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14WivGI_LRuZMxqZBJi4bN9mMlTA5FvZN1rPpXwgon0g/edit?usp=drivesdk
